Milestones
by MoraleDK
Summary: Small Glimpses into the life of Integra Hellsing and those around her.
1. Chapter 1: Drawings

What on earth is that?

Walter had to admit, he wasn't an expert on children's drawings, and didn't consider himself an expert on children at all. However, this particular family drawing lost its childish charm once he spotted the rough black and red scribble on the page. Integra had to be about 5 years of age when she drew this, that was the last time he could remember having to go purchase crayons and such for her to occupy herself with. Arthur would take the little girl to his meetings, Integra was a patient child, but there was a limit to that patience which often led to her wandering off.

Walter can remember keeping himself entertained by watching the young girl carefully color and draw in a rather organized for a girl her age. It was around the same time that Integra had started to inquire about her mother in order to include in her pictures of course. Walter allowed her artwork to go onto his wall and not the fridge, he could see the void in Arthur's eyes as he watched his daughter attempt to draw her mother with no memory of her. Now as the old butler went through the old papers in his quarters, he looked past the nostalgic sadness and more at...well, he didn't know what the hell that was.

Integra had drawn her father as the skinniest thing there, with a mop of yellow sticks for hair, but she took time to detail his suit. He was even there, sporting his ponytail and usual uniform, although Integra failed to give him the proper shoes. She drew her mother as a woman who is darker than her and with black hair, the long purple dress she was wearing was quite detailed in comparison to the clothing of everyone else. Integra wasn't in the picture, she seemed to have run out of space on the page. Then there was this thing, as if she scratched something out, rather violently, but whatever it is was same height as her father, probably even a tad taller.

He sighed, he had no time to inspect this piece any longer, he glanced at the clock hanging on the wall, 50 minutes after the hour. The butler folded the paper up and stuck it in his breast pocket then left the room to begin his work for the day. Integra was difficult to wake up if she slept in, and the small window of time that she would accept nutrients other than coffee was already slim enough.

That afternoon, Walter found himself standing in her office as she conducted business over the phone. The Round Table had been wearing her down more than usual, constantly scrutinizing all of her actions and even attempting to dip into her personal life. She was a woman of a very dual nature, at her meetings she maintained a controlled set of emotions, taking every jab with a pinch of salt. In person you could see her face growing red with rage, she bit the inside of her cheek as she listened to the individual on the other end of the phone. She was human after all, pulling strands of her hair out as she reluctantly listened to the extended critique of something else she did wrong. His focus came back onto her person as her herd the phone slam down on the receiver.

"He had the nerve to ask me why I wasn't responding to his tirade, then when I did, he proceeded to explain why my response was inadequate. These men have families and lives outside of the Round Table that they purposely neglect just to call me up and tell me what a shitty job I am doing" she grumbled her rant fluidly while pushing her fingers up under her glasses to rub her eyes.

"At least they had they were considerate enough to send you a Christmas card last year" Walter chuckled

"Oh, you mean the one that had 'You'll Do' written on the inside, I've never felt more appreciated in my life" she rolled her eyes, before they focused on his breast pocket. "What's that? More mail?" she asked.

Walter was hesitant to answer, "This? Just some paperwork I was planning on sorting later"

She adjusted her glasses and sat up now curious, "I still want to see it, anything that is sorted in this house goes through me, you know that. I would rather inspect every scrap of paperwork that circulates in the manor than the Round Table bringing it up later without having knowledge of the item in question.

"It's really nothing, but if you insist ma'am" he handed her the drawing.

Her face dropped into an expression of slow realization, "Oh lord" she sighed.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, after all you gave me these in confidence that I'd keep them, and I never break a promise, although this one wasn't in the regular stack"

"Oh lord" she repeated, "Where did you find this?"

"In the car actually, I was sorting through the glove box and found it, crammed in there"

"I drew this last week"

"Last week?" Walter was rather surprised, this was in crayon and Integra had taken a drawing classes all through middle school.

"Mmhm, it's actually drawn on the back of a fax sent to me last Monday, it was a request for updated information on my finances, and I drew on it out of spite then lied then said I never got it"

"Sir Integra-"

"I know, it wasn't the most mature action, but it was either that or strangling some stranger and I don't think I can get away with that...in the daytime anyw-"

"No no, it's about the picture" he walked up and pointed to the black scribble, "What is this scribble here? I looked at it for a good 15 minutes before giving up. I can tell you started to draw something here but decided to omit it. I can't for the life of me figure out who it was originally, seeing that this is recent is it-"he dropped down to a respectful whisper" Is it Richard?"

"No, it's Alucard"

Walter wanted to laugh, it was hurting him at how much he desired to laugh right now.

"See" she continued " I tried to draw his hair, but I was still pissed frankly, he's supposed to be coming through the wall. "Walter you look like you're in pain, is everything alright"

He needed to leave, any longer and his old heart would give, I'm fine, just taking in the details a little better"

"Right, you can have it back, I honestly thought you would've discarded it in the trash upon finding it"

"I keep everything you draw, we made a deal Miss Hellsing, and I intend to hold up my end of our agreement"

Integra rolled her eyes as she stood, "Right" she glanced at her wristwatch, "I'm going to go take a quick nap before this headache sets in, wake up in 2 hours please" she instructed before making her way towards her room.

He'd have to make that an hour and 45 minutes or she'd sleep past dinner and 40 years into the future. He would need to utilize this time though, he wasn't quite finish with his filing.

Sleeping was the only habit that had remained with him in his current state, the vampire could function with or without it, but preferred to have it anyway. In his pseudo slumber, his presence would still seep into the walls and floors of the house, forever guarding and watching under the guise of sleeping. He heard the footsteps wandering in his cellar, but decided not to investigate, it was a passive body, whoever it was crouched down by his coffin and left. He grew antsy while he attempted to lull himself back to sleep, whoever came down there was staff of someone familiar enough to not serve as a threat. Sleeping was the only action that he wasn't commanded or obligated to do yet, he probably needed to seek out the intruder and send them a warning.

Lifting the lid on his coffin with ease he sat up placing a hand on the side to steady himself, he felt paper. He frowned, leaning over to rip the thing off of his precious coffin, it had been tapped there, how crude. This had to be Walter's doing, he often stuck messages onto his coffin, reminders and notes that he did not need nor care for. Although, he did appreciate the early warning concerning his masters mood, it did amuse him to toy with her a bit when she wasn't too upset.

He examined the picture and his eyes automatically locked onto the unsightly black blob drawn on a wall "Is that what she thinks I look like?" he spoke out loud in a tone of disbelief. The vampire wasn't rested enough to deal with this, so he stuck the drawing back on his coffin and went back to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2: Rage

Integra didn't bat an eyelash when the alcohol was applied to her bloody knuckles.

Walter kept quiet the best he could, he had already given an Oscar worthy lecture concerning Integra's behavior today. She had a name to uphold as well as a large set of responsibilities thrust upon her, and Walter understood if she was stressed. Yet, it wasn't the fight that disappointed him, it was the fact that Integra brutalized her attacker even after he was immobilized. This degree of violence in her worried him, especially if she was to be making important decisions about the containment and extermination of vampires and ghouls supernatural beings.

The counselor had explained that after some disgusting young man made a disrespectful comment towards her Integra responded back with something more profane. This led to an exchange of heated words, and this particular young man slapping Integra, and as anyone can guess this didn't blow over well. It was reported that the lithe blonde head-butted her attacker then followed up by kicking him in the chest, breaking one of his ribs. Walter remembered being rowdy in his youth, fighting in a similar fashion, he would've even encouraged a few well-placed kicks until someone pulled them apart.

Integra is a small girl for her age, but her upper body strength was more than adequate to complete her gruesome task. She drug the boy by his legs over to the display case for trophies and plaques then forced him to stand. After he was steady she began to choke him and as the wrestling coach came to stop her, she slammed his head against the glass then held her hands up in surrender. He could barely hear the radio over his own scolding while Integra sat scowling with her arms crossed and her head resting on the window. Perhaps she was spending too much time with Alucard, anticipating utilizing him for his grim talents may be prompting her to be equally savage to avoid subjugation.

Now he sat in her room tending to the only injury she had, a pair of mysterious bloody knuckles. She hadn't punched anyone during her fight, and the injury appeared to be an old one, reopened by her rough handling of her unpleasant school mate. The room was painfully silent, the only light in the room provided by the daylight bleeding through the large window. Walter hadn't realized it immediately, but while he was kneeled by Integra's bedside he began to grind his teeth. This was the only sound that resonated through the room that made Integra break the silence.

"I'm sorry" she mumbled.

"For what" he was waiting for her to explain herself

"I'm not sure, but you're still mad so I thought it would be appropriate to apologize"

Walter stilled and shot her a warning look in response.

Integra frowned and snatched her hands away, "What else was I supposed to do? Let him get away with hitting me? Wait for him to do it again?"

Walter pinched the bridge of his nose reminding himself that she is only 16 and responded to being struck. However there was a disturbing feeling that he couldn't shake about the entire situation, he stood and spoke evenly. "Why the trophy case Integra, escalate the situation to the point in which you did?"

Integra paused, playing with the edge of her skirt while searching for the correct choice of words. "I wanted him to see himself" her head may have been tilted downward but she spoke proudly.

"Elaborate" The butler practically hissed.

"I wanted him….to watch as I choked him, so that I could see too, his eyes started to water, I was going to let him go but-"

"Integra you could've killed that young man if given the time, better yet he could've found an excuse to mortally injure you if he had gotten free! You may defend yourself, however when you seek laurels for your wounded pride then you just become, you turn into a-"

"A what! Go ahead and say it" the teenager demanded.

"A self-entitled tyrant who has no business running an organization of this nature"

Integra's face shifted into one of hurt and shock at her butler's words.

"Your father left you in charge because he believed in your capabilities and so do I, however, if you cannot control your actions then I must say I am beginning to doubt his decision. You are not only responsible for killing vampires, but assuring you do so in a manner that minimizes casualties on your part. You cannot send men to their deaths for the sake of hurt feelings. Even if you have been dealt the deepest wound your only objective is to exterminate and contain, as is expected of you. I am going to leave you to your thoughts and I expect you to reflect on this experience, and when I return you will eat dinner, go to bed, then think of some way to apologize to the parents of that boy….understood"

She remained silent

"Understood" he nearly shouted.

Integra hopped off her bed and stormed out into the hallway, "Yes Sir!" she seethed.

Walter stood in place and counted to 10 in his mind, he would allow her to go cool off and seek her out later. Ever since her mother went "missing", Walter accepted the fact that he would have to take part in raising her. At this rate, all of his hair was bound to turn grey and fall out, Integra has never been this level of problematic. Hopefully the teenager would find a place to isolate herself and clear her head, leaving him to catch up on his own obligations and fix dinner for the evening.

Integra sat cross-legged in Alucard's cellar, her arms draped over the solid black coffin that sat in the middle of the room. Her forehead pressed against the cool hard surface of Alucard's resting place, the pronounced chill of the room soothed her brooding headache. It was hard enough explaining her lengthy absences from school, and now she had to face the possibility of getting expelled from school altogether. During that fight, a wave of ferocity washed over her, drowning everyone in its wake. She avoided Walter for the rest of the day, Integra stood by the validity of her actions, and yet disappointing him hurt her heart. Even more so, his words hurt worse than any slap from some stupid school boy, she even found herself pressing her palms to her eyes to halt tears.

The sun had gone down an hour ago, and after hearing a light warning knock coming from inside the coffin she sat up as the lid rose. Alucard was still getting used to his little master, every time he opened his coffin he half expected Arthur to be standing over him, explaining a new assignment. His new master was an odd one, soon she would reach a state of discipline that would exceed her father's, but now her eyes were red from crying. Alucard is a creature that finds peace through service, and the history of his usage was a linear one, he was a weapon.

It was genuinely confusing when Integra came down to speak with him, and thought he was finally losing his mind when she would ask about his wellbeing. He would fidget at times, expecting her to finally send him into battle and reduce him to his former objectivity, but instead she would sit and hold simple conversation. The only human he ever held a civil conversation with was Walter, but even the former Vampire hunter wouldn't think twice before using Alucard as a bullet shield. Three months after he had been reanimated, Integra would open his coffin and throw a quilt over him, thinking that he didn't have one (or even needed one in the first place).

His master wasn't overly compassionate, but in comparison to his previous handlers, she was a nurturing god like being. He didn't mind her company, it added some variety to his damnation, she listened to him and regarded him more like her elder than her possession. True, she does refer to him as a servant, but is more likely to address him by his given name. Again he started to fidget, getting out of his coffin he sat next to his master on the floor, she then climbed into his coffin herself.

"I'm going to sleep in here, just wake me up when you want to go back to sleep" she instructed. She lay there in silence before rolling on her side to face Alucard. "I didn't wake you up did I?" she asked.

"No" he lied. He could sense her within a couple hundred feet of him, and much, much farther when concentrating. The moment she entered his cellar he became alert and ready to be utilized, yet when she merely sat near the coffin without a word, it worried him.

"You can be honest with me, I don't want to inconvenience anyone else today"

He frowned, he didn't like it when she spoke this way, and the fact that she'd been crying didn't bode well either.

Integra rolled on her back "I got into a fight at school today" she glanced over at her servant who was now resting his back against the wall. "He slapped me so I hit him back, but-"

"Did you kill him?" Alucard responded with interest

"...What...no" Integra was caught off guard by his question.

"Do you want me to?" He pressed

Integra sat up "Why would I want you to do that" she asked wearing a confused expression.

"What else would you want me to do, other than that?"

"I don't understand...what you're asking me"

"I'll kill whoever you tell me to, I won't question it, I'll execute my task with no hesitation, not to mention you have yet to use me"

Integra was at a loss for words, "I-I…."she cleared her throat and found her voice. "Yes…..I understand what you were used for, but I would never have you kill someone over such a petty grievance"

"Well if you do, don't hesitate to ask"

She stared at him, slowly realizing the true importance of her actions and why they had upset Walter so much. She was the only being on earth that Alucard would obey, furthermore, his own free will was severely limited, and if she were to send him to kill the Queen herself he couldn't refuse. How could she control the monster before her if she couldn't even control herself, she didn't have to choke the boy in a sadistic show of power. When she steps onto the battlefield to defend England, civilians will be in the cross-fire, innocent people who must be accounted for in these situations. What if she gets so wrapped up in a blind rage that she allows Alucard to slaughter non-vampiric bystanders?

She sighed burying her face in her hands, "Oh lord, what have I done" she murmured.

Alucard cocked an eyebrow, "I thought you said you didn't kill him?"

"No….it's not that…..Alucard-"

The vampire sat waiting for her words.

"Never mind" she gave a wave of dismissal, she covered her eyes with an arm, "I don't feel well, don't mind anything I'm saying" she paused. "Do you think what I did was excessive?"

"In comparison to what I would've done, no, but you could've saved yourself the misery you're in had you not gone that far" he shrugged.

"What would you have done, I'm curious"

Now this was a conversation he could be properly engaged in, "Ripped his tongue from his mouth through his jaw, and left him to bleed out…."

"I could see that, but why wouldn't you eat him, it'd be the equivalent of me beating up a chocolate cake and leaving it there"

"Unless you commanded me to, I'd rather leave him there to rot"

Seeing his master frown made Alucard believe that this subject matter may have been bothering her, but that concern was dismissed when she said, "I'm hungry now, do you think Walter is still pissed at me, because I'm very tempted to just go and ask him to make me some cake"

For the first time in a while the beast let out a genuine laugh, she was an odd little girl, not many her age would hold such a gory conversation. The threat of violence didn't repulse her, she had learned to accept it, she had embraced the eerie concept. It was the threat her of a diminishing will that scared her that her iron discipline was jeopardized because of one bad decision. He followed her for this very reason, she knew she would make mistakes, and she refused to weigh in on official business until she was of age. She learned from her errors and was able to admit when she was wrong, he was fascinated with the aspect of her personal growth.

"Will you come with me to ask Walter for some cake?" she extended a hand, Alucard took it and helped her to her feet and out of the coffin.

Alucard smiled, he dreamed of the day his master managed to harness that rage to command him properly. He would wait, enjoy their mild conversations for the simplicity, but the day she seethed with controlled rage, sending him as a vehicle for that anger, he would be ready. As for now, he would follow his master and tend to her innocent and nonviolent request, but couldn't wait for Integra to send him out to kill for her. He'd keep her small, delicate hands clean and untainted even if he had to lick the blood off of them himself.


End file.
